Washington -- The US is working to limit “negative Islamist influence” within Sudan’s government, an official told The National, as testimonies and investigations point to escalating attacks on the country’s Christian minority.

Asked about reports documenting drone strikes, church demolitions and intimidation, a US State Department representative said that Washington has seen “significant backsliding” in Sudan’s respect for fundamental freedoms since the conflict erupted in April 2023.

“This backsliding especially impacts Sudan’s oppressed ethnic and religious populations, including Christians,” the official said.

Escalating violence against Sudan's Christian minority documented in testimonies

Sudan was designated a Country of Particular Concern under former president Omar Al Bashir, and the US remains focused on "preventing the return of institutionalised persecution of Christians and the return of Islamic extremists who might further violate religious freedom," he added.

"To safeguard US interests, to include the protection of religious freedom in Sudan, US efforts seek to limit negative Islamist influence in Sudan’s government," affirmed the official. His country is working to "curtail Iran’s regional activities that have contributed to regional destabilisation, conflict, and civilian suffering," he added.

The comments follow an investigation by Sky News Arabia, featuring testimonies from across Sudan of attacks on Christian communities, amid a wider pattern of abuses by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

One of the deadliest incidents occurred on December 25, 2025, when SAF drones struck a Christmas gathering in Jaloud village in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, killing and wounding 31 people, according to witnesses. The area was not an active front line but a religious gathering in a region with a large Christian population.

Weeks earlier, drones hit a health centre in Komo, also in South Kordofan, killing at least 46, including students and children, residents said. Witnesses reported repeated strikes as civilians attempted to evacuate the wounded.

Christians, estimated at about two million people or four per cent of Sudan’s population, saw improved freedoms during the post-2019 transition. Those gains have largely reversed since the 2021 coup and subsequent war, with churches demolished, communities displaced and little accountability for abuses committed by all sides.

Islamist networks, including figures linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and the former ruling National Congress Party, are playing an increasingly influential role within the power structure surrounding SAF chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, according to Western officials and Sudanese experts.

Islamists have also re-emerged as a key backbone of the SAF war effort, leveraging manpower, organisation and combat experience to expand their influence inside the security apparatus.

Tens of thousands have been killed since the war broke out. At least 12 million have been displaced and 25 million about half of the population  are facing hunger with pockets of famine emerging, mostly in western Sudan. International calls for a humanitarian truce have failed to halt the fighting.